Black Wings: Shades of Gray
by Marissa Blackwing
Summary: The first in the series, occurs shortly after the events of Shadow the Hedgehog, after the apparent fall of Black Doom. A mysterious red-eyed man has appeared, but what are his intentions?
1. The Red Eyed Man

_Okay, first chapter! This takes place approx. a few months after the events of the 'Shadow the Hedgehog' game. I don't want to spoil the story, so you'll just have to read it._

_If all goes well and at least close to the way I plan it, and if you all like this story and show some support, I might just make a sequel, already have some ideas. All depends on how this does when it's finished._

_**I'll only say this once, so pay attention:** Obviously, I do not own Sonic, Sega, or its affiliates. I appreciate constructive criticism and comments, but please, make yourself understandable. If you don't like anything that ISN'T full of chatspeak and such, don't bother reading this story; I will not fill it with such nonsense. I ONLY speak, read, and write english. _

_Okay, enough babbling, I hope you like my fanfic!_

A man walks the city streets. The crowds hurrying by pay him little heed, though some glance at his clothing. They are too busy to notice the strange depth in his eyes, the suggestion of one much older and more experienced than this lone pedestrian appears to be. He, too, gives little thought to the many around him, instead plodding on, though he seems to be in no hurry to reach his destination.

Who would guess that this man is the one they had cowered below such a short time ago? The man whose crimson eyes hide an ocean of memories...

**Chapter 1**

The Red-Eyed Man

"Excuse me." The cashier looks up, startled by the tall figure. The voice suggests a man, but he stands in front of the sun and the cashier cannot see his face. A young woman, she hesitates before answering.

"Um, I'm sorry, but we're not open right now..."

"I'm simply looking for directions."

"Huh? Oh, um, sure, how can I help?" The woman turns to her computer, in case she does not recognize the location.

"I wish to reach Emerald Beach."

"Emerald Beach? Well, you can get there if you follow the roads to the east, then just go south after exiting the city..."

"Thank you." The cashier watched as the man turned and walked away, his odd scarf and black hair blowing slightly in the wind.

_What a strange man,_ she thought. _I thought everyone around here knew how to find Emerald Beach...a tourist, maybe? ...or something else?_ _There was something very odd about him... _The woman shook her head and returned to her work; it was none of her business, in any case.

"Sooooniiiiiiiccc!" A pink hedgehog charged across the sand, frightening the seagulls nearby. "I've got you now, Sonic!" she said, hugging another hedgehog, this one with blue spines.

"H-hey! Cut it out, Amy!" The blue hedgehog attempted to break loose from the girl, but it was no use. In the sparkling ocean water, similar creatures played. A rabbit splashed around happily, accompanied by a blue chao. The small creature stopped and attempted to get the rabbit's attention.

"What's wrong, Cheese?" The rabbit girl looked across the beach, then at the stone pathway leading away from the shore. That was when she noticed him; a tall man staring out over the ocean. It was impossible to tell whether he was looking at the rabbit and her friends or simply enjoying the sunset. What really startled Cream – for that was the rabbit's name – was not his sudden appearance or odd clothes, though; it was his eyes. Even from this distance, somehow, she could see that they were red.


	2. Plight of the Chao

****_Alright, second chapter! This chapter is a lot longer than the first one. It may be a bit hard to follow, but I promise, things do come together and get explained later. Hope you all like it!_

**Chapter 2**

Plight of the Chao

A day after their beach trip, Sonic and his friends traveled to the mountains, intending to spend the day at a chao garden. Cream ran ahead of the others.

"Soon we'll get to play with your friends, Cheese!"

"Chao!" The small blue creature flipped in midair, clearly pleased. In their excitement, Cream and Cheese did not notice the thin line of smoke that drifted from the mountaintop, and the pair hurried on towards the garden.

"Hey, Cream!" called Amy. "Wait for us!"

"Hold on, Amy," said Tails. "Doesn't something seem...off?"

Sonic nodded. "Looks like smoke...we'd better hurry." Everyone agreed, and rushed to the summit...well, almost everyone.

Unlike the others, Shadow turned away. "I've got better things to do." With that, he sped away in a golden blur.

Tails soon discovered what had caused the smoke...and that Cream had found out the hard way.

"Amy! Mr. Sonic! Help me!" the rabbit cried, trapped in a cage of steel. Close by, all the chao that normally played in the garden were held in a similar, if larger, cage. Next to them, standing on a floating platform, stood an all-too-familiar enemy.

"Eggman!" shouted Sonic. Tails pointed angrily at the imprisoned chao.

"What are you planning to do to those chao?"

"Ohohoho! Are you sure you want to hear it?" taunted the tall man. "Chao have more chaos energy than ordinary creatures. I'm going to harness that energy to build the Eggman Empire! And this time, none of you can stop me!"

"Wanna bet, Egghead?" laughed Sonic. "You just never learn, do you?" The blue hedgehog raced towards the mad doctor.

"Are you sure you want to do that, rodent? There might be...consequences." Dr. Eggman pushed a yellow button on a gray remote he had been hiding behind his back, and small sparks of electricity sparked around the bars of Cream's cage, causing her to cry and stopping Sonic in his tracks.

Dr. Eggman chuckled evilly. "Come any closer and you can say bye-bye to the bunny!"

"Shoot!" said Sonic, snapping his fingers. "That's playing dirty! There's gotta be a way to stop him..."

"That's just it: there isn't!" Dr. Eggman grinned at the famous blue blur. "I'm going to extract the energy from these chao, and there isn't a single thing you and your little friends can do about it!" Finishing his short speech, the doctor pressed a blue button on the remote, causing two arm-like pieces of metal to extend from the platform. The 'arms' firmly grasped each side of the chao cage.

"Now!" With a flourish, Dr. Eggman pressed a third button, green this time, causing the metal arms to glow brightly. The chao cried out as their energy was slowly transferred to a large, battery-shaped device.

"What will you do now, Sonic? You can't st- OW!" Eggman dropped the remote as something struck his hand. Next thing he knew, a strange figure had snatched the remote and deactivated his machines, allowing Sonic and Knuckles to break open the cages and release both Cream and the chao.

Angry that his hostages had been freed, the doctor spun around to see who had attacked him; Dr Eggman found himself face-to-face with a black haired man, red eyes glaring. "Grr...you're going to pay for this! Get them, Triple Cell!" shouted the doctor, practically smashing an orange button on the remote, which had been left on the platform after the machines were shut down. The large battery began to move, the mechanical arms reattaching themselves to its sides, revealing the battery to be a robot.

Triple Cell swung its arms, attempting to crush the red-eyed man, but the target nimbly leaped aside. The giant robot began to charge energy, as if preparing a cannon.

"Look out!" Sonic ran towards the robot and spinballed into it, knocking the heap of metal to the ground. A powerful hammer/fist strike from Amy and Knuckles finished off the menace.

Dr. Eggman, though, was one step ahead; he had already taken to the air, and was shaking his fist as he fled. "I'll get you for this, hedgehog! And you, I won't forget you either!" he shouted, pointing at Sonic and then the stranger. In a few moment, the doctor was gone.

Sonic approached the strange man who had helped them. "Hey, not bad! Who are you, anyways?" The man did not respond, and began to turn away from the group. However, before he could take a single step, all of the chao swarmed the man, knocking him over and hugging him.

Cream walked over, carrying Cheese. "They say they're very grateful, and they hope you come play with them when they're not so tired!"

The man carefully rose to his feet and turned away. He began to whisper, almost to himself, "I suppose so. Chao do not understand that the world is not so black and white." The man began to walk away. Sonic called out to him, but the man did not stop or look back.

Sonic shrugged. "Sheesh, what's his problem?"

Cream looked at Sonic. "Well, Cheese likes him, so I don't think he's bad. I wonder what he was doing at the beach, though?"

"What do you mean, at the beach?" asked Amy.

"When we were all playing, I looked up at the city and saw him standing there."

"Well," Sonic began, "there's no point worrying about it now. I have a feeling we'll be seeing that guy again!"

Far down the mountain path, the red-eyed man walked slowly, absorbed in his thoughts. Should he have said more? Could he have told them...? ...No...no, it would have only caused trouble, if they even believed him. He probably shouldn't have even gotten involved; after all, wasn't the blue hedgehog known for getting out of difficult situations? Still...

The man shook his head. Thinking such things was pointless, he would be better off focusing on what he would do now...but that was the problem: he just didn't know what to do with himself. There was so much he could do, and yet so little...what was the best path? It was never easy, these decisions he had to make, and probably not so good for his health. What did that matter to him, though? He had lived this long. He didn't need anyone to like him, or even not hate him, just knowing that what he had done was for the best was enough.

Overhead, the stars glittered in the night sky; the man had been walking for some time. He lied back on the grass and stared at the tiny shards of light. So much regret, what good did it do? He could easily nod off here...

The man sat up quickly. The last thing he needed was to do something so careless. He stood and continued walking. He didn't really need any sleep, anyways.

The tall man with red eyes walked a moonlit path, and lied to himself once more.


	3. Missing Corpse

_This chapter was, for some reason, much harder to write than the first two and something about it just really bothers me. Maybe it's because there isn't a lot going on yet. Anyways, it's a little shorter than chapter 2, and shows Tails beginning to doubt the stranger. Stay tuned..._

**Chapter 3**

Missing Corpse

Sonic and his friends sat around a table at Tails' lab, talking about events that occurred earlier that day. "Umm...Sonic, about that strange guy we saw..." Tails began in an unsure voice, "don't you think something about him seemed...familiar?"

"What do you mean?" replied Sonic, a clueless look on his face.

Tails looked even less sure than before. "Um, never-mind. I need to see him again to be sure, anyways."

"That guy's sure to show up again. Weird people like that don't just go away after you meet them!" Knuckles looked around at the others, sure of himself. "Mark my words, we'll see him again!"

The next morning, Tails went out alone for a walk in the woods. He wanted some time alone to think about the red-eyed man they had seen. The two-tailed fox never imagined he would run into that very man in the forest.

The man was walking very slowly between the trees, a long ways off the path, when Tails spotted him.

"Hey-" Tails started to call out, then froze in his tracks. _I was right, _he thought. _The scarf he's wearing...it belongs to Black Doom! I've gotta tell Sonic!_

However, it was to late to run off; the man had heard him and was now staring at him, clearly expecting the fox to continue.

Knowing he needed to appear calm, Tails managed to get out a few words. "Uh, um...where, uh, where did you get that scarf...?" _Stupid! _thought Tails. _Now he knows I noticed it! _

The red-eyed man, however, showed only vague surprise. "This?" he asked, placing a hand on the fabric around his neck. "I found it."

"Found it?" repeated Tails, thoroughly confused. "What do you mean, 'found it'?"

The man glanced at him. "Yes, in the ruined city to the west. I found this scarf wrapped around the debris."

"...O-oh." Tails stammered numbly. _Of course, it can't be him. I just panicked a little...but, wait a minute...if he found the scarf... _Tails looked at the man again. "You...you didn't _see_ anything...odd, did you?"

The man shook his head. "I am not certain what you're implying, but aside from this scarf there was little more than wreckage."

The two-tailed fox shook his head. "Okay, just wondering..." _I don't think this guy's an issue. He acts a little weird, but he just doesn't seem like he could be Black Doom...but if this guy didn't see any sign of him, we might still have a problem. I should go back._ "Well, thanks for the info! I gotta go see Sonic!" With a wave good-bye, Tails turned and ran back towards his house.

The red-eyed man shook his head slightly and sighed. _That fox will get hurt, trusting strangers so easily,_ he thought to himself. The man turned and continued to walk through the trees.

Several minutes later, an out-of-breath Tails explained what he had learned to Sonic. "...and that means that no one's found the body yet! Before, I thought it might have been completely destroyed, but if the scarf was fine, the body should have been there!"

Sonic shrugged. "Calm down, Tails. Maybe GUN already found the body, or maybe Shadow got rid of it. We can talk to Shadow and Rouge later and ask. No problem." Tails slowly sat down, feeling a bit better. Maybe Sonic was right. After all, there's no way Black Doom could have survived...right?

Reassured by their conversation the night before, Sonic and his friends set out to find and talk to Rouge the bat, as she worked for GUN and would probably know if Black Doom's body were found. The group waited for many hours and even had to come back the next day before they actually saw the bat-girl and could try to truly bury their concern.

However, Rouge would provide them no comfort. "Sorry, Big Blue," she told them. "Old Commander's had his boys combing the city for a while now, but there's been absolutely no sign of the guy. We were beginning to think there _weren't_ any remains until you brought up that scarf thing."

"That's too bad," said Sonic, not really looking worried. "I guess we'll just have to go find Shadow."

"One more thing," Rouge blurted, stalling them, "If you see that guy you mentioned, tell him to come here. I'm sure Commander will want to talk to him."

As they left the military base, Tails lagged behind. "Sonic...you don't think...he really IS still around, do you? Even Shadow barely stopped him before. I don't know if-"

"Relax, Tails!" Sonic called back. "There's nothing to worry about. Shadow probably had some issues with the body or something, and even if that crazy alien DID survive, we'll just all go and take him out again!"

Still, Tails couldn't shake the feeling that things were very out of place as they traveled to Shadow's last known location. The black hedgehog only confirmed his fears; Shadow's news was much like what they heard from Rouge. Shadow had not seen the body of the Black Arms' leader, though he also made it clear that he would be very happy if he never saw any trace of the three-eyed alien again.

The group spent a few days searching for information, but still found nothing. Remembering Rouge's words, they decided to seek out the red-eyed stranger from before. Tails found himself feeling no better than when he left for a walk in the trees the last time; his thoughts were nearly the same, and the stranger weighed on his mind.

It would be nearly a week before they saw the man again.


	4. Lyrcos Blackwing

**Chapter 4**

Lyrcos Blackwing

Shadow walked silently along a deserted street, deep in the ruins of Central City. The hedgehog was not in a good mood. It shouldn't be possible, but all the facts pointed a very big finger towards one simple fact: Black Doom was not dead. Shadow absentmindedly kicked a chunk of debris as he walked by, feeling the need to vent a little. The scrap sailed into an alleyway.

"Rmph." Shadow froze; someone else was in the ruins.

"Show yourself, or I'm coming in after you." The black hedgehog was in no mood for games. Slowly, a figure rose from the shadows, a familiar scarf wrapped around his neck.

The red-eyed man gave an expressionless stare. "I very much doubt that kicking wreckage into others will solve your problems, hedgehog." Shadow could only glare at the man. That was Black Doom's scarf, there was no denying that, but Shadow couldn't really believe that the dark leader would do something like this.

"Who are you? I want a straight answer!" Shadow preferred the direct approach to playing twenty questions.

The red-eyed man was silent for a moment before answering. "...Lyrcos."

"What?"

"My name is Lyrcos* Blackwing." The man – this Lyrcos – did not waver; it was hard to tell if he was lying or not. Either way, Shadow doubted he could get a different response out of him. There was no point asking where 'Lyrcos' got the scarf, either; Shadow had already heard from Tails. As such, it took the dark hedgehog several long seconds before he decided what to say.

"What are you doing here?" was the best he could come up with at the moment.

"I could ask you the same."

"I asked first."

"True enough... I simply wandered here."

"Wandered?"

"I have a great deal of time on my hands, and no linear path to follow. Therefore, I rarely pay much attention to the route I take while I am thinking."

"What do you mean, thinking? About what, exactly?" Shadow pressed.

Lyrcos wasn't taking the bait, however. "I have no intention of being interrogated by you. Farewell." Without so much as a glance back, he turned and walked away, back into the darkness of the alley.

"I'm not done with you!" Shadow hurried down the same way...and found it empty. The hedgehog looked around, but found no sign of the mysterious man. "...Just what is he...?" The black hedgehog couldn't help but think that, for whatever reason, Black Doom _had_ changed himself into that man somehow. After all, with him just disappearing like that, wearing that scarf, possessing those red eyes...who else could it be?

The man who called himself 'Lyrcos Blackwing' was now far away from Central City, though it had only been a couple of hours since his encounter with Shadow; the sun was only beginning to set. The place he was in now seemed to be a decently-large town, though Lyrcos only passed a handful of people as he wandered the streets (or rather, the sidewalks). There was no one at all in the park that he paused in...or was there?

Lyrcos noticed something – or rather, some_one_ – sitting on an orange bench, next to some trees; the person appeared to be a child. Lyrcos silently walked closer, curiosity getting the better of him.

"Far from home, aren't you?" The child jumped at his voice, the fear in his eyes clear (it was a young boy). Lyrcos stood silently; he often found doing so far more effective at calming someone, compared to actually telling them that there was nothing to worry about. Sure enough, the boy soon relaxed, though remained clearly cautious. The two stared for a while before Lyrcos decided to break the silence. "Shouldn't you be going home? The sun is setting."

The boy hesitated. "I'm waiting for my daddy." Lyrcos sighed; he got the impression that the boy's father was not only late, but that this was a common occurrence. The sound of metal interrupted his thoughts; he turned to see a man with a gun aimed at them both.

"Awright, hand over all yo' valuables! Money, jewelry, whateva! An' hurry it up!" The man sneered at him with rotten teeth; Lyrcos could smell the smoke on his breath despite the distance between them, and mildly wondered if the man's accent was natural or simply the result of his decayed teeth. The thief seemed to be losing patience, however, and came closer. "You deaf o' whut? Gimme yo' money!"

Lyrcos waited until the man stepped a little closer, then slammed into him. Lyrcos had pulled both of the man's arms behind his head before the would-be thief even knew what happened, then leaned in close. "You are not worth the effort. I suggest you leave before my charitable mood expires, and do not return." Lyrcos released his grip, and the terrified man fled for his life.

"...Mikey? Mikey!" A man in a business suit ran into the park, and embraced the young boy. "I'm sorry I was so late, but I heard a suspicious man had been seen near the park, and – you're not hurt, right?"

"Daddy, this bad man showed up, but this other guy chased him away!"

"What? Well, where is this nice guy?"

"He's right – huh?" The boy and his father looked around, but there was no one there.

Some ways into the trees that surrounded the park, Lyrcos vaguely wondered whether the 'suspicious man' someone had seen was himself or the thief, but then decided it didn't matter. He had already made his decision not to get involved, that was why he slipped away when the boy's father appeared.

Lyrcos sighed. Maybe it was about time he caught up on his sleep; he had very nearly made a mistake when he grabbed that man back there, and he didn't want to overdo it. _I should probably eat something, too...well, maybe tomorrow._

Meanwhile

"Commander!" A GUN soldier burst into the control room.

"What is it, soldier?" Commander noticed how flustered the soldier – a captain, he noted – looked, and assumed it was something important. He was right.

"Sir! We think we've located Black Doom!"

_*If you want to know how to pronounce this, think 'Lyr' like the word 'leer', and 'cos' like 'coast' minus the 't'._

_Also, give me some feed back and opinions here: do you, the readers, want me to include some random character trivia? And if so, would you prefer it down here for the chapters or in as a sort of 'seperate story' format? Let me know. Finally, if any of you keeping up with this story are artists and would like to try out making a cover for this story, feel free to send 'em to me. I can't offer you anything but thanks, but I'd appreciate it.  
_


	5. Death and Doom

_Alright, this chapter is pretty short, even I'm not sure why it took this long. Though it's not that long, I wanted this section to be on its own, and not as the first part of the next chapter. Next one will be longer, I promise, and focus more on Lyrcos' character. I'd love some feedback - aside from the fact that this chapter is WAY too short - and opinions, particularly concerning the last chapter. Alright, enough blabbering, on the the story:_

**Chapter 5**

Death and Doom

Shadow ran through the forest, his destination straight ahead. He had heard from Rouge that GUN had somehow located Black Doom, but the bat thief was unable to provide any details, not having been with the soldiers. Shadow had decided to go see for himself; GUN was unlikely to be able to do much without him, anyways.

The black hedgehog slowed to a walk, and approached a break in the trees. He looked out from the top of a small cliff, and noted the many soldiers and machines in the valley below. Shadow narrowed his eyes; something was off. The men seemed to be in no rush, and no shouts or weapon fire reached his ears. The hedgehog shook his head; it must have been a false lead, then. Still, perhaps there was something of value, some clue or scrap of information left here; it was possible that GUN had simply missed the dark alien leader.

In any case, Shadow had no intention of missing something important; he raced down the cliff face, and went to find whoever Commander had left in charge here. The news that the man gave the hedgehog was shocking, and hard to believe.

Black Doom was dead. It was a bit difficult to tell – the body was severely and scorched – but the overall structure was undeniable. Very few creatures had a head shape like that, and the scraps of clothing that could still be identified were a match. The damage suggested that the alien had been hit by the eclipse cannon's blast, further correlated with Tails' research, which suggested that Devil Doom had not actually been the alien leader himself, more of a puppet. Shadow 'persuaded' GUN to let him see the remains himself, just to be sure, but nothing suspicious caught his eye.

Shadow left the makeshift camp slowly. It was a relief to know that the dark leader would trouble them no more, but...this find brought forth more questions than it answered, and the biggest seemed to leer at him, in his mind. If the man who called himself 'Lyrcos Blackwing' was not Black Doom...then just who was he?

With no leads to follow, the black hedgehog could do little more than speed away, through the valley entrance.

All the while, the man with red eyes watched from the same trees Shadow had arrived through...


End file.
